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Sunday, 14 February 2016

All Berezovsky got was this lousy T-shirt

This ‘fashion
statement’ is imprinted on a T-shirt which, in July 2010, was purportedly sent to
Boris Berezovsky by Andrei Lugovoy, one of the two Russians suspected of
poisoning Alexander Litvinenko.

“On any view,”

…intones
Sir Robert Owen, whose Public Inquiry findings were published on 21 January
this year,

“…it demonstrates that Mr
Lugovoy approved of Mr Litvinenko’s murder.It was also,
clearly, a threat to Mr Berezovsky. Further than that, the T-shirt could be
seen as an admission by Mr Lugovoy that he had poisoned Mr Litvinenko, made at
a time when he was confident that he would never be extradited from Russia, and
wished to taunt Mr Berezovsky with that fact. Alternatively, it could, perhaps,
be seen as an extraordinarily tasteless joke.”(Litvinenko Inquiry report,
8.125)

On any view, Sir Robert? Must we therefore
assume that as far as his intellectual faculties were concerned, Lugovoy was at
so mystifying a disadvantage, not only would he send this message to his most
vociferous accuser, but – eschewing their common native language – for the sake of the cameras, he would
write it in the language of the country which sought to put him in the dock?Surely, surely something as crudely obvious as its
‘deliberate mistake’ could not help to convince anyone that this was a ‘genuine
article’? Are we supposed to be impressed by the fact that, whoever was the
true fashion designer, they correctly identified Lugovoy’s favourite football
team? In recorded history, is there a single instance of a crime suspect who
combined this degree of outright stupidity, with this much determination to
parade said stupidity in front of a worldwide media audience? On any view?

According
to Owen’s report, Lugovoy gave his T-shirt to an acquaintance called Raphael
Filinov, asking him to take it to Berezovsky. This provenance was attested to by
the latter’s personal aide, Israeli-Russian lawyer Michael Cotlick:

“Mr Cotlick said that he was
aware that Mr Filinov had a personal relationship with Mr Lugovoy. He said that
he had “no doubt whatsoever” that Mr Lugovoy had himself handed the T-shirt to
Mr Filinov, in order for him to give it to Mr Berezovsky.”(8.124)

Leaving garment manufacturing to one side for the time being, however. Elsewhere in
his report (8.132), Owen scrutinises the results of a lie detector test
conducted on Andrei Lugovoy in April 2012, by fully qualified British father
and son team Bruce and Tristam Burgess:

“Bruce Burgess, who took the
lead role in conducting the test, announced the result to Mr Lugovoy in the
following words, “I can tell you the result was conclusive, you were telling
the truth, no deception indicated.””

On the
advice of a Professor Bull, Sir Robert finds fault with the way this test was
conducted; he thinks it possible Lugovoy took ‘countermeasures’ to defeat the
test; he calls Bruce Burgess’s integrity into question over a past
transgression; he even casts doubt on whether the result did in fact indicate
that Lugovoy was telling the truth.

“In consequence,”

…says
Sir Robert at Part 8.134,

“I do not feel able to place
any weight at all on the outcome of the test.”

Of
course, this was his prerogative. However, isn’t it fair to contrast his dismissive
attitude on this matter, with his uncritical embrace of the authenticity of the
T-shirt? Moreover, isn’t it legitimate to ask why the same person who sent
Berezovsky the unusual CSKA away strip, would risk taking a lie detector test
at all? And while we’re back on the subject of designer clothing – with
reference to their story about how the T-shirt came into Boris Berezovsky’s
possession, would Michael Cotlick and/or Raphael Filinov be prepared to submit
themselves to lie detector tests?

“I found Mr. Berezovsky an unimpressive, and
inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible
concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes.At times the evidence which
he gave was deliberately dishonest; sometimes he was clearly making his evidence
up as he went along”[1]

2 comments:

From here, if you go to 'Newer Post' there's a preamble called 'Russia's bad rap' which is useful but not essential. The critique of Sir Robert Owen's report continues by clicking 'Older Post' here and at the end of each successive page.

About Me

Hi, I'm James Bruce, a 41 year old chap from Bristol in England. I set off on 22 March 2013 from Blantyre, Scotland, with the aim of reaching Blantyre, Malawi, with God's help. I am raising money for Mary's Meals, the non-denominational charity that feeds children worldwide and helps them gain an education. I paid for all my expenses myself, thanks to a legacy from my late grandfather. If you would like to donate please call call 0800 698 1212 or visit www.marysmeals.org.uk.
I hope you will accompany me on this journey from wherever you are! God bless, James